September 22, (THEWILL) – The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), United Kingdom, said it has confirmed “widespread fraud” at a testing centre for international nurses seeking to apply for UK registration in Nigeria.
NMC said the fraud was uncovered at the Yunnik Technologies Test Centre in Ibadan, Nigeria, in May 2023 after being alerted to “anomalous data” coming from the site.
Yunnik is one of the third-party centres overseen by test provider, Pearson VUE, to provide the computer-based test (CBT) of competence for the NMC.
The CBT is one of two parts of the test of competence that international nurses must complete, as part of their NMC application and is usually sat in their home countries.
The Council, in a statement on Thursday, said the investigation showed that while the majority of the individuals who sat their CBT at the Yunnik centre are not considered to have joined the register fraudulently, there is evidence of widespread fraud at the centre.
The Council said 48 current registrants and 669 applicants “achieved their score in a time we believe is more likely than not to indicate that they obtained their result fraudulently.
“The 48 registrants will be referred to an NMC investigating committee to look into their case and, if it is confirmed that they joined the register fraudulently, they will likely be removed.”
However, the registrants will be given the chance to provide “mitigating circumstances or character references,” as well as three opportunities to retake the CBT. They could also appeal any decision to remove them from the register.
Meanwhile, the NMC said 669 applications will need to obtain a new CBT result to complete their application, which will then be passed to an ‘assistant register’ to consider.
It added that the assistant register could refuse the application if they had concerns that the applicant had “acted fraudulently or dishonestly”.
The Council further said that 467 registrants and 771 applications, who sat their CBT at the centre but are not suspected of fraud, will also have to retake their test.
“This is because the NMC cannot have confidence in any CBT result from this test centre and we’re treating all CBTs obtained at Yunnik as invalid. The costs of retaking the CBT will be covered by Pearson VUE,” it added.
The NMC said it was writing to all professionals and applications affected to explain the findings of the investigation and the next steps they will need to take.
“There is evidence of widespread fraudulent activity at the Yunnik centre, where we suspect some people fraudulently obtained their CBT, probably by the use of a proxy tester, where someone takes the test on behalf of someone else. Overall, this means we cannot have confidence in any CBT result from this test centre, and we’re treating all CBTs obtained at Yunnik as invalid.
“It’s essential for the NMC to maintain the safety and integrity of the register, and the public’s trust and confidence in the professions we regulate. This means we need to assure ourselves that anyone on our register, or applying to join it, meets our proficiency standards. A valid CBT result is one way in which an internationally educated professional can demonstrate they meet these standards.
“We will refer each of these cases to an independent panel, called an Investigating Committee, to decide whether they gained fraudulent entry to the register. In line with our existing policy, those individuals will be offered three opportunities to take a new CBT and will be able to give the Investigating Committee information about the circumstances in which they took the CBT at Yunnik, including any mitigating circumstances or character references. They’ll have the chance to attend a hearing to provide the Investigating Committee with evidence in person.
“If the Investigating Committee decides that an individual’s entry to our register was fraudulently obtained, they’re likely to direct us to remove that individual from the register. An individual would have a right to appeal against this decision.
“Based on the evidence at this stage, we are not taking forward allegations of fraud for the remaining 467 professionals on the register, who took their CBT at Yunnik.
“However, because we are treating all CBTs from the Yunnik site as invalid, they will need to resit the test successfully to remain on our register. They will be offered three opportunities to do this, in line with our existing policy. This will enable them to evidence to any employer that they hold a CBT result about which there can be no doubt,” the statement read in part.
NMC Chief Executive and Registrar, Andrea Sutcliffe, said this may be a distressing time for people facing uncertainty about their application or place on its register but the Council is managing the concerns most safely and fairly.
